The cost-of-living crisis has pushed many young Americans to rely on the bank of mom and dad to make ends meet.
According to a recent report by Savings.com, roughly 50% of Americans with children over 18 provide regular financial support.
On average, these young adults received $1,474 in monthly support, with the average Gen Z American expected to receive $1,813 per month and the average millennial expected to receive $863 monthly in 2025.
However, parents also face the same cost-of-living challenges as their children. Here’s how their efforts to support their adult children could be putting their financial future and retirement at risk.
Savings.com also found that working parents who financially support their adult children spend more than twice as much on this support as they do on monthly retirement contributions. On average, these parents are setting aside just $673 for their nest egg, according to the report.
Seniors across the country already face a retirement crisis. Nearly 20% of adults over the age of 50 have no retirement savings at all, according to AARP. Meanwhile, 61% of them worry about running out of funds after they leave the workforce.
A shocking 80% of seniors across America are either financially struggling now or are at risk for economic insecurity in retirement, according to a 2024 survey by the National Council on Aging.
Many parents risk becoming part of this cohort of struggling retirees by contributing more to their children’s lifestyle than their own savings and investment accounts. Here’s how you can avoid the same trap.
Read more: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees — here’s how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis
Although you may feel obligated to assist your children, you also have an obligation to your future self. Balancing the needs of your retirement planning and those of your children is tricky, but essential.
It is a good idea to have an open conversation with your adult children and to set clear limits and boundaries on your financial assistance. For instance, you could set a hard limit on how much you give them to keep those monthly payments below that of your investment contributions.
